1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of cooking apparatus and methods of employing such cooking apparatus. More specifically, the invention relates to pressurized fryers and methods for employing such pressurized fryers to cook food products.
2. Description of Related Art
Known pressurized fryers may include a cooking vessel, and a cooking liquid, such as water, oil, shortening, or the like, may be disposed within the cooking vessel. Moreover, uncooked food products, such as chicken, fish, potato products, or the like, may be disposed in the cooking liquid within the cooking vessel. The vessel subsequently may be covered with a lid, the lid may be manually latched to the cooking vessel, and food products disposed within the cooking vessel may be cooked. Covering the cooking vessel during the cooking process may increase pressure inside the cooking vessel, which may decrease an amount of time needed to cook the food product. Nevertheless, during the cooking process, the pressure inside the cooking vessel may increase above a desired level. Moreover, when the cooking process is complete, i.e., when the food product is cooked, it may be desirable to reduce the pressure inside the vessel to about 0 pounds per square inch gage (“psig”) before retrieving the cooked product.
In order to reduce or bleed off pressure from the cooking vessel during the cooking process, or alternatively, subsequent to the completion of the cooking process, known pressurized fryers may include an exhaust tube having an opening formed therethrough. The exhaust tube may be disposed within the cooking vessel and also may be positioned below the lid. The exhaust tube also may be connected to a pressure regulator positioned outside the cooking vessel, such that the pressure regulator may control the pressure inside the cooking vessel via the exhaust tube. Nevertheless, during the cooking process, when uncooked food products are added to the cooking fluid, the cooking fluid may become agitated, which causes gases to release from the cooking fluid, such that a portion of the cooking fluid may become suspended in air within the cooking vessel. Moreover, the cooking fluid may enter or become disposed in the opening of the exhaust tube, which may increase a frequency with which the exhaust tube may need to be cleaned.
In order to maintain the pressure inside the cooking vessel during the cooking process, known pressurized fryers also may include a seal between the cooking vessel and the lid covering the cooking vessel. When the cooking process is completed, the seal may be broken, and the lid may be raised, such that cooked food products may be retrieved from the cooking vessel. Nevertheless, if the seal between the cooking vessel and the lid is broken before the pressure inside the cooking vessel is about 0 psig, steam created by the pressure inside the cooking vessel may rise from the uncovered cooking vessel. The steam may condense on the fryer, and also may condense on any machinery located proximately to the fryer. Moreover, unless the pressure inside the cooking vessel is reduced to about 0 psig before breaking the seal, the cooking fluid inside the cooking vessel still may be agitated when the seal is broken.
When the pressure inside the fryer is reduced to about 0 psig, known pressurized fryers also may include means for manually raising the lid in order to retrieve cooked food products. For example, known pressurized fryers may include a handle for manually raising the lid.